Finding success with IoT and big data

Why are some companies obtaining desired results on the IoT journey while others are not?

“The success or failure of the Internet of Things hinges on big data,” says Brian Hopkins, an analyst with Forrester Research. The companies that monetize big data through analytics and strategic planning reap the benefits.

Nordstrom is using big data, IoT and real-time analytics to personalize sales opportunities. The retailer uses the swipe of a customer’s card during a point of sale transaction in stores to link to cookies tied to a customer’s online identity. Cookies inform the retailer what the customer has perused online, and thus allows the retailer to offer purchase suggestions in conjunction with those items. As noted on PYMNTS.com, real-time analytics that result in a personalized offer improve the brick-and-mortar retailer’s ability to compete with internet-based retailers.

Coca Cola is using data from soda fountain machines to introduce the most popular combination as a ready-made canned drink. Plans are underway for a “virtual assistant” to reside in vending machines to allow greater customization of beverage mixing. “Coca Cola is known to have ploughed extensive research and development resources into artificial intelligence (AI) to ensure it is squeezing every drop of insight it can from the data it collects,” Marr noted.

So what sets these companies’ IoT implementation apart from the roughly 80 percent of implementations that seemingly waste transformational opportunities? The short answer: big data and IoT working together.

What is the connection between the Internet of Things and big data? “Just like with any big data play, merely collecting the data isn’t enough,” says Conner Forrest, ZDNet. “The data must be processed and analyzed to glean insights, and those insights must drive actionable steps that can improve the business.”